The global trend toward renewable and environmentally clean energy has created an opportunity for the application of solar panels to charge the batteries and augment the electrical power on watercraft, namely sailboats and powerboats. One conventional method of connecting the solar panel to the boat electrical system is to tie-wrap or tape-wrap the solar panel cable to the solar panel frame in one or more places, then to the bimini frame of the boat in several places, then to the stern rail in one or several places, and through a drilled or existing hole in the hull, using a grommet or caulk to hold the cable firmly in the entrance. The cable is then led to the electrical system out of sight beneath the boat enclosure.
The cable and tie-wraps are unsightly and the cable is exposed to the weather and to accidental damage.
Various connector and fitting systems are disclosed in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,948 discloses a conduit-supporting structure for a small watercraft that reportedly allows the number of conduit guide components to be reduced, and the required number of processes in piping and wiring to be reduced during assembly. A vessel body includes a hull, constituting the lower portion thereof, and a deck for covering on top of the hull. A floatation insert block is disposed between the hull and the deck, and the block is made with a supporting groove formed therein, for guiding conduit such as a pipe and/or a cable. The conduit is guided along the supporting groove, and is supported in the supporting groove by being pushed therein, taking an advantage of the resiliency of the floatation insert block.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,134 discloses a hinge assembly for mounting to a jet propelled personal watercraft including a hinge and a wire bundle assembly. The hinge can include a hinge top portion for mounting to the personal watercraft hood pivotally coupled to a hinge bottom portion for mounting to the top deck. The hinge bottom portion can have a wireway aperture therethrough. The wire bundle assembly can include several wires disposed within a tube, in turn disposed within a seal formed about the tube. The tube seal can be at least partially received within the hinge bottom portion aperture. The tube seal is preferably forced downward by the hinge bottom portion against the top deck. The wire bundle assembly can be formed as an assembly at a site distinct from the site of final watercraft manufacture. The wire bundle assembly can be inserted through the top deck, and secured in place by the hinge being secured to the top deck, over the inserted wire bundle assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,791 discloses a waterproof wire connector that has a tubular cap and a tubular shoe which is telescopically received in the cap. An electrical connection is made between the contacting ends of a plurality of electrical wires extending through the shoe and hooked in a slot provided at the forward end of the shoe. As the shoe is inserted into the cap, a sealant in the cap is hydraulically injected around the stripped ends of the wires reportedly electrically insulating and protecting them from oxidation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,017 discloses a connector for passing continuous insulated electrical conductors such as pins or multi-stranded wire through a surface or bulkhead, while reportedly preventing leakage of liquids and gases along the conductors, especially between gaps in the strands. An exemplary connector comprises a body having seal-zone openings in which a sealant is applied and cured around a compressed bared section of multi-stranded wire. The body contains strain relief members adjacent to the sealed openings to provide longitudinal as well as transverse strain relief. A sealant member and radially spaced clasps are located around the sealed openings and strain relief members so that the connector may be removably twist-locked onto a bulkhead reportedly without disturbing the sealed wires.
European Patent No. 0 069 576 discloses a sailboat mast primarily intended for racing which is constructed of three or more vertical columns, two of which can be tubular and the other of which is solid. The columns are arranged in a triangular or diamond pattern and connected by cross braces. The hollow forward tubes are used as conduits for the mainsail halyard and the jumper wires for adjusting or tuning the shape of the mast. If three columns are employed, they are arranged in a triangular pattern with two forward columns forming a leg at right angles with the keel and the aft column on the keel line.
It would be desirable to retrofit existing boats with solar panels utilizing conduit assembles that protect the wiring from the elements and damage, as well as to hide the wiring from view in order to substantially maintain the original aesthetics of the stock craft.